Once unemployed, Iqbal Hasan Tutul from Jashore’s Sharsha upazila have now self-reliant by farming goat commercially.
Tutul started rearing four goats eight years ago. Later, he has set up his goat farm next to his house in Bagamchara area of upazila where there are more than 300 goats worth about Tk 15 lakh in his farm.
Apart from local goats, foreign breeds of goats are also being reared at his farm.
Inspired by the success of Tutul, people now come to him to seek advice on how they can open a goat farm at low cost. Tutul said that he started raising four goats in 2012 for Tk 20,000 as a hobby.
After one year, four goats were sold Tk 40,000 then he decided to open a farm to make more profit.
Advised by the Upazila Animal Resources Department, Tutul bought the goats of the native Black Bengal breed and set up the farm.
There are now more than 300 goats of four species. He and his wife Lipi Khatun take care of them, Tutul said,
As his farm expands, they employed three workers. He even has planted hydroponic grass in the fallow land to meet the animals’ food demand.
Tutul's wife Lipi Khatun said goats give birth twice a year and each breed has more than one baby. Besides, diseases hardly attack the goats, she added.
Once vaccinated in a year, goat hardly requires drug making the framing less costly. Tutul said a foreign cow cost of feeding is TK 300 a day while 20 goats can be fed at accost of Tk 300 daily.
Goats usually eat wheat, maize, gram flour, soybean and grass, he added.
Sharsha Upazila Livestock Officer Masuma Akhter said they regularly inspect the goat farms and give the farmers necessary advices and medicines.
"With already 830 farms housing 1.1 lakh goats in the upazila are in operation, more people are seeking advice to open a farm, she added.
The Tutul couple has been quite successful in rearing goats inspiring others to reduce unemployment.